Authenticity, advocacy and AI: The next chapter of PR

In a rapidly changing world, public relations and reputation management are at the forefront of challenges and opportunities offered by technological advancements, shifting expectations from consumers and social and political changes.

- RON JABAL

In Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, the PR industry will need to navigate in 2025 a landscape defined by the integration of AI into many aspects of life and the heightened demands for authenticity but with a new level of accountability from businesses and their leaders.

The emergence of AI-powered PR

Artificial Intelligence has emerged to be at the core of every PR strategy, replacing the traditional approaches. PR agencies in the Philippines are leveraging AI for media monitoring, sentiment analysis and content creation. Agencies in Manila are now utilizing AI tools to monitor public sentiment relating to a brand in real-time. A business can predict a crisis and change its approach of communication dynamically.

AI has also transformed stakeholder engagement in Southeast Asia. For example, Thailand's tourism boards use AI-powered chatbots in interacting with potential visitors; they personalize recommendations and address concerns in good time. Such tools, while efficient, push PR professionals to uphold a human touch in such automated engagements.

Authentic storytelling amplified through AI will be very important in the building of trust and loyalty in messages. The future of PR will call for a balance in its practice - utilizing AI while still making sure that messages strike on an emotional level.

In 2025, authenticity became a non-negotiable rule in reputation management, no longer a buzzword. East Asian consumers scrutinize corporate behavior through the lens of the ESG metrics--the new standards of green, social and governance measurements.

In the Philippines, initiatives such as the "Green Agenda" have brought companies into the spotlight for their roles in sustainability. Companies that do not live up to these values are likely to face backlash.